As thousands of women descend on Washington, D.C. for Saturday’s Women’s March, supporters in nearly 60 countries are holding sympathy marches against Donald Trump’s presidency.
In Auckland, New Zealand, more than 1,000 people rallied outside the U.S. Consulate General. Local police said about 3,000 people rallied at Hyde Park in Sydney, Australia before marching to the consulate. About 5,000 people rallied in Melbourne, organizers told Reuters. Many of the protesters wore pink hats, referred to as “pussyhats,” in reference to a 2005 tape in which Trump disparaged women and was heard saying, “Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” And women also held solidarity rallies in places like Yangon, Myanmar and Beirut, Lebanon.
Canadian tourists who wanted to join the march in Washington, D.C., were allegedly prevented from entering the United States by border agents.
Demonstrators at Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington and at hundreds of sister marches across the country protested to send a “bold message” that “women’s right are human rights.” The march was meant to be a first step to unify communities, with the goal of ensuring gender and racial “parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society.” During the election cycle, Trump consistently insulted and demonized immigrants, LGBTQIA, Muslims, Blacks, Latinos, people with disabilities, and survivors of sexual assault.
As Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington get underway, here are some photos from the global solidarity marches:
#WomensMarch underway in
– Paris
– London
– DC
– Boston
Updates: https://t.co/3a0uBW2nel https://t.co/PMChGTxYxb— CNN (@CNN) January 21, 2017
New Zealand Twitter user @nixit posted a shot of Queen Street in Auckland, where more than 1,000 people rallied outside the U.S. Consulate General.
All the way up Queen St, in the first country to given women the vote! #wmakl #WM_global #WomensMarchOnWashington pic.twitter.com/1CIabseSSQ
— Nicki Gemmell (@nixit) January 20, 2017
Marches also took place in Australia, Myanmar, Lebanon, France, Germany, and Serbia.
My friend Maz spoke at the #WomensMarch in Sydney, Australia. We are global. 🙌🏽 So beautiful. ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/0XtbIVO4zR
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) January 21, 2017
In Yangon we picnic for solidarity #WomensMarch #WomensMarchOnWashington #whyIMarch #yangon #myanmar pic.twitter.com/xTXRhc0DHz
— Ellen Maynes (@EllenClaireM) January 21, 2017
#Beirut day of action in solidarity with #WomensMarch on Washington. #WomenMarch #WMW #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/6pause5K5q
— Sarah Sh. (@psygh) January 21, 2017
#WomensMarch Paris pic.twitter.com/nWivnwZ6GV
— lazimigilles (@lazimigilles) January 21, 2017
Protesters hold signs at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin https://t.co/nLkLUm2UyO #WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/7sClWJkYzc
— CNN (@CNN) January 21, 2017
In the United Kingdom, people held solidarity protests against Trump, but many women also felt the need to speak up about other issues like “the Brexit vote, anti-immigration feeling, the refugee crisis and Irish and Northern Irish women being denied access to abortion,” the BBC reported.
80,000 strong (reportedly). Pussy (and her friends) fights back. #womensmarchlondon ❤ so much love pic.twitter.com/i3aMad5YMf
— Cathy White (@cathywhite10) January 21, 2017
Scouse solidarity with our sisters in America ❤💪 #womensmarch pic.twitter.com/qkllPkUqYc
— Andrea McGuire (@FixingMyDrawers) January 21, 2017
In Hungary, where the right-wing government has cracked down on refugees coming into Europe, protesters said they were marching to “build bridges, not walls.”
Build bridges not walls. Women marching in Budapest, #Hungary, against bigotry and for human rights! Pic by @brouilas #WomensMarch pic.twitter.com/7S5cT8Cx3J
— Lydia Gall (@LydsG) January 21, 2017
In Serbia, protesters held a “Women’s March Against Fascism” event in Belgrade.
Protesters also came out in Lisbon, Portugal; Athens, Greece; and Warsaw, Poland.
In India’s Kolkata and New Delhi, women held protests against sexual assault and victim-blaming, following the groping and assault of several women by a mob on December 31, 2016. After the incidents, government officials blamed the women for following “western culture”, dressing inappropriately, and staying out late.
In Mexico City, Mexico, people demonstrated peacefully Saturday at the U.S. Embassy, calling for respect towards Mexicans and migrants. The previous day, other protesters built a mock “border wall” outside the U.S. Embassy and set an effigy of Trump on fire. Trump has said that he would build a wall along the southern U.S. border and make Mexico pay for it, a claim Mexico rejects.
The Women’s March even expanded to Antarctica, where women protested Trump’s intention to roll back Obama’s climate change mitigation plans.
BREAKING: Antarctica announces #womensmarch, expanding the movement to 7 continents! #womensmarchglobal https://t.co/lYORtUSGYP via @grist pic.twitter.com/3YrEMd0a9n
— Womens March Global (@WM_Global) January 20, 2017